Preventing Back Pain – what can YOU do at home?

Believe it or not, back pain has become the leading cause of disability in North America. Did you just read that? The LEADING cause!! We have cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and numerous other diseases plaguing our society and BACK PAIN tops the list in creating disability.

Discussing the causes of back pain is topic for another day. In this post, we wanted to give you some information about what you can do to prevent back pain in the comfort of your own home.

A DAILY ROUTINE TO ENHANCE LOW BACK HEALTH

The following exercises are the most researched and most efficient movements designed to spare the spine, enhance muscle control, and challenge the correct muscles.

These are some key points to remember:

Muscle endurance, as opposed to strength, is the goal

Focus on stability and control

Breath in and out continuously to maintain core activation

The end goal is to have a stable, supported spine without having to consciously think about activating muscles because we have grooved movement patterns that become automatic.

1. CAT-CAMEL

Position yourself on your hands and knees.

Suck in your stomach and arch your back, tuck in your chin and tail.

Extend your head and back and reverse the arch.

Repeat 6 – 8 times.

2. CURL-UP

Lie flat on the floor, slide your hands underneath you low back to support the low back, and extend on leg.

This positions minimizes the stress on the spine.

Lift the upper back/shoulders off the floor and hold for 3 seconds, then slowly lower back to the starting position.

Repeat 20 times and then switch legs and repeat.

3. BIRD-DOG

Begin on all fours. Tighten the abdominals before beginning.

Slowly extend the left arm and right leg so that they are parallel to the ground.

Make sure the pelvis and shoulders stay level throughout the movement, and the abdominals stay tight.

Hold for 3 seconds while breathing.

Slowly lower back to the starting position and switch sides.

Repeat 10 times each side.

4. SIDE-PLANK

Position yourself on your side with your shoulder over top of the elbow and the knees stacked on top of each other.

Lift your hips up off the ground, keeping the spine in its correct neutral alignment.

Hold for 20 – 30 seconds.

If you have any questions about how to implement these exercises into your daily routine, drop by the clinic and chat to one of our chiropractors.